Tigelle

It’s a “Tigelle” kinda day…

Tigelle are a very popular street food from the Emilia-Romagna region of north east Italy, whose capital is Bologna.

Tigelle, resemble muffins in both taste & texture.  If you love English muffins you will love tigelle!

They are crispy on the outside and when you split them open the are fluffy in the middle. Tigelle are sometimes called ‘crescentine’ derived from the Italian word ‘crescere’ meaning ‘to grow’ and it refers to how the tigelle puff up during cooking to create the fluffy interior.

They are best served warm, filled with an array of cured meats & cheeses.

I veganised my tigelle recipe by using soy milk (you can of course use dairy milk if you want). Personally I find soy milk best in savoury cooking but feel free to experiment.

They really make a terrific sandwich to munch on any time of the day.

Fillings for today’s lunch include:

- salami for my carnivorous ‘other half’

- provolone cheese, parmesan & my homegrown salad leaves for me!

Buon appetito.

Mangia, mangia! 👩🏻‍🍳

Tigelle recipe:

250g plain flour
1 tsp instant/fast action dry yeast
75ml warm soy milk or dairy milk
75ml warm water
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt

Makes 7 tigelle

1. Before making your dough, ensure both the soy milk & water are at room temperature, if not just pour both into a jug  & warm in the microwave for no more than 20 seconds.

2. I made my dough in a mixer with a dough attachment.

• To make the dough in the mixer, add the flour, yeast, milk mixture & olive oil in the bowl then start mixing slowly before adding the salt. Set your mixer to medium (3/4 on a kitchen aid) for about 7 minutes until the dough is smooth & elastic.

• To make the dough by hand, put all the ingredients in the bowl (add the salt last) & gradually bring the dough together with your hands. Tip it out on a floured surface & knead for at least 10 minutes until the dough is smooth & elastic.

3. Cover the bowl with cling film then put in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

4. Roll the dough to at least 1/2 cm thick then cut out rounds using an 8cm cutter or like me use a glass with approx. 8cm diameter dipped in flour to cut out your rounds. Re-roll until all the dough is used up then place on a floured tray & cover then let prove again for about 1 hour. This quantity of dough will make 7 tigelle.

5. Time to cook the tigelle - place a non-stick frying pan over a low/medium heat & cook the tigelle for about 3-4 minutes on each side until puffed up and slightly charred. Note - it’s very important that the heat is not too high as you don’t want the tigelle to burn & not cook.

6. Split open whilst still warm & stuff with your desired fillings.